Monday, December 12, 2011

Winter Roots

Underground Eating

Dig deep and you will find that from beets and burdock to turnips, turmeric and yams, plant roots are some of the most humble and unassuming – and at the same time underrated – foods we can eat. Economical, healthy, and tasty, roots have been important to humans since the dawn of time.

Now cooks and chefs are rediscovering what early peoples and herbalists of all eras have always known: underground roots, tubers and bulbs of many plants are not only nutritious and satisfying as a food, but they often carry concentrated healing components.

By their very nature as producers and storehouses of energy for the entire plant, roots are full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, proteins and other tremendously important nutrients. Potatoes, for example, provide "per land unit, more energy and more protein for the human body in a shorter time than any other crop (five times more than soybeans, corn or wheat)." (From The Essential Root Vegetable Cookbook, Sally and Martin Stone; Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., NY, 1991.)

Read the rest of the article as it appeared in Vitality magazine here, and download Root Slaw and other root recipes.

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copyright

All photographs and recipes are original and copyrighted to Pat Crocker. Pat invites you to use her recipes and share with family and friends. Please contact Pat Crocker for express permission for commercial, internet, or other use of her photographs and recipes.

Basil at 2 months from seed.

First harvest and I clipped off most of the tips. I combined it with my CSA basil and made my first batch of pesto.

Basil at 1 month from seed

Any seeds lucky enough to have room to grow are now at about 2 inches high. Not yet time to harvest.

Basil from Seed

I'm too soft to thin my basil. This wheel of basil was sown on Mother's Day, May 18th this year. Please come back to Watch It Grow.

What is an herb?

My definition of 'herb' is: any plant that is helpful to humans. Plants that are used in culinary, medicinal, ornamental and cosmetic preparations are largely categorized [by me, anyway] as herbs. That means that some trees, shrubs, spices, woody plants, fruits and vegetables fall into my broad definition of 'herb'.

And that is why on my blog, you will find a wide variety of plants used in my original recipes.

Name That Herb

SWEET CICELY (Myrrhis odorata) - May 15

Name that Herb

ROSEMARY Rosemarinus officinalis

NAME THAT HERB

It's not exactly an herb–it is fungi! The photo is dried Porcini. I reconstitute it for risotto or soup.

NAME THAT HERB

Friday November 13- JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE

NAME THAT HERB

CHICORY (Cichorium Intybus) - Friday August 28

NAME THAT HERB

CLOVE PINK- Friday August 21

NAME THAT HERB

CALENDULA (Calendula officinalis)- Friday August 7

NAME THAT HERB

GOOSEBERRY- Friday July 31

NAME THAT HERB

ANGELICA (Angelica Archangelica)- Friday July 24

NAME THAT HERB

PARSLEY (Petroselinum)- Friday June 26

NAME THAT HERB

SAGE (Salvia officinalis) - June 5

NAME THAT HERB

THYME (Thymus vulgaris) - June 19

Name That Herb

COMFREY (Symphytum officinale)

Name that Herb

HORSETAIL - May 22

Name That Herb

ROSEMARY- May 29

NAME THAT HERB

RHUBARB - May 8

NAME THAT HERB

THYME- June 12

Growing Basil

July 26: The lonely guy! One short basil stem sports a flowerhead (see close-up on the left). Not thinning has caused overcrowding and stunted growth.

Growing Basil

June 26: Most seedlings have now past the 2-leaf stage, but they are crowing each other out.

Genovese Basil

Watch It Grow. See close-up on the left. This wheel of basil was sown on Mother's Day, May 18th this year. Please come back to Watch It Grow.

Nettie on Being Flexitarian

Roasted Fall Squash

Roast 'Em for Flavour! Place whole squash (I used a small pie pumpkin and a butternut squash) on a rimmed baking sheet. Prick in several places with a knife. Bake in a 350° oven for 1 hour or until tender when pierced with a knife.

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About Me

I'm a Culinary Herbalist and cookbook author (13 books including 3 herb handbooks) I create, develop, test and photograph recipes. Food and Herbs are my passion.
For a listing of all my cookbooks and to order, go to my webpage: www.patcrocker.com

Herb or Erb?

You say 'Erb and I say Herb...let's call the whole thing off.

I get this question all the time. And people are serious about the whole issue.

It's Erb if you are French. They drop all their hayches. But if you speak English, would you say I'm going Ome? Well you might, if you lived within earshot of the Bow bells but that's beside the point. And what are the bow bells anyway?

I think this whole Erb thing came about with the American fascination with all things French. After all, its Cuisinart food processor in America and in France it's MagiMix. The food terminology is always more interesting on the other side of the pond?

Anyway, I sort of flip back and forth, using Erb after the word 'an'. So I might say,